Applied Technology Holdings, Inc. (ATH) revealed it's plans today to develop a BodySensor™ and BodyBalance™ system from its new Digital Data Collection technology platform, for which the company has filed multiple patent applications. Based on a study from the New England Journal of Medicine, only 9 percent of the nation's hospitals have electronic health records, on a survey of nearly 3,000 hospitals. The study, financed by the federal government and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, is the most definitive measure to date of the use of computerized patient records by hospitals. The government-backed study found use of electronic health records to be far less prevalent than some earlier, less rigorous surveys had found.

Jay Shears, CEO of Applied Technology Holdings said, "Our technology platform is based on sensor technology and a software platform which will allow for solution providers to write electronic health record applications. The technology is intended to allow developers, to wirelessly monitor, process, and measure human body motion, balance, and bioMotion™ data. Shears continued saying, The Obama administration's health technology plan, which is part of the economic recovery package, includes incentive payments for adopting digital electronic health records -- more than $40,000 per physician and up to several million dollars for hospitals. The payments are spread over a few years and are based on meaningful use of certified records."

Industry experts suggest that the incentive payments, are enough to greatly accelerate the adoption of electronic health records. In the new survey of hospitals, the cost of digital record systems was cited as the single largest obstacle to adoption.

Shears commented that the industry is planning for electronic health records to be used as a tool to reform health care. The Obama administration also intends to shift Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement toward paying for better health outcomes, which will be measured and monitored using technology. The new administration goals are quality and efficiency, instead of just putting machinery in offices.

The small, lightweight, and low cost wireless sensors, together with the ATH digital data process technology platform, will provide human motion capture and balance information using wireless wearable devices that can monitor, display in 3-D, control, and remotely store collected digital data in real time, with some applications collecting or transmitting data over the internet.